intoxicating // [merry ratmas stare<3]

sbeeg
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intoxicating // [merry ratmas stare<3] Dec 21, 2016 19:55:48 GMT -5

Post by sbeeg on Dec 21, 2016 19:55:48 GMT -5

Benedict Nolan

Your eyes are staring at odds and figures, the men around you trying to grab a victor to put money on from your lips. You were always right. Benedict Nolan- the best in the game. Always had big money on the best tributes and always came out on top, and at such a young age too. However, today was different. Green eyes glare at the paper, looking at the names and numbers and seeing nothing at all.

"Hey there, Trouble."

The memory of her voice fills your brain, and your lip jerks up exposing perfect, white teeth.

"He's got a winner!" a gruff voice calls. A meaty hands lands on your shoulder, shaking you around in an attempt to pull the name out of you. You lightly brush the hand away and ti retreats to its owner.

"Not today, maybe tomorrow," you say, standing up and dropping the paperwork onto the table.

You walk out of the gambling den, and the other men are up in arms. What has happened to that talented young man? He's acting... well he's acting like a kid.

Hands in your pocket, and red hair in your mind, you walk through the square. There are many stores begging for the cash in your pocket, but you're not too willing to spend it on just anything. It has to be perfect. The wind is cold and people huddle in their winter coats, but the weather doesn't bother you. Not even the stitched up wound in your side seems to be annoyed by the chill. The only thing about snow is that you didn't know of any flowers that blossomed in it.

Still, the growing optimist, you stepped into the little shop at the end of the street. A bell rang as you pushed the green painted door aside. It was a tiny shop, filled with shelves of seeds and small garden tools. Nothing grew fantastically well in the smog of District Nine, but not for lack of trying. A wrinkled old woman stood behind the counter, and peered up at you through thick spectacles.

"Excuse me, you don't happen to have any flowers I could buy?" So polite, and lacking the usual snark. How strange.

The woman squinted in thought before bringing out a little pot of pink flowers. They had thin green stems and light pink petals.

"Sweet pea," the woman said, motioning to the blossoms.

"I'll take them."

Crossing the district, the sun was starting to dip into the buildings. The soft orange glow bounced of the snow, bathing everything in warm hues.

When you walked up to the house the lights were on in the front room. So, you rerouted through the side yard, through the gate and up to the window you had crawled out of a few weeks earlier.

Suddenly, you were aware of yourself. Benedict holding flowers and grinning like a madman, sneaking up to a girl's window in the evening just to be able to see her again.

What had happened to you?

Still, nothing could stop the desire in your chest. You had to see her again. To smell her hair and listen to her voice. To feel her hands on your skin, and to just talk with her. Banter and bicker and just be.

You bite down on your lip, aware that you can't believe how deeply you care for this woman and yet you can.

Taking a deep breath, you step up to her bedroom window and knock your knuckles against the glass.

Here comes, Trouble.

Stare
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and i will hold you tight / like the moon in the arms of the sky

intoxicating // [merry ratmas stare<3] Dec 24, 2016 0:33:16 GMT -5

Post by Stare on Dec 24, 2016 0:33:16 GMT -5

[googlefont="Sanchez:400"]

town cryer, village flyer
got a skull and crossbones on his chest
and i can't resist
when he looks like this, oh

There were days when Alicia wondered how she could be so lucky.

She'd never believed in karma, or a world in which bad deeds never went unpunished. She'd been misbehaving and reaping the benefits for far too long, spying on drug lords and loan sharks who lived lives of luxury while their victims suffered. The weak and downtrodden looked at those men and called them lucky. They claimed that they would get what was coming to them. Sometimes they did. More often than not, though, they died fat, wealthy, and happy.

Such a fate, though, had never seemed within her reach. She could be cruel, certainly, but never cruel enough. She wasn't the kind of bad that raked in money by the bundles. She wasn't the kind of bad that got lucky, that lived a life of luxury, that somehow managed to build happiness out of her dirty deeds. She was the kind that lurked in the shadows, quiet, unseen and unheard, always doing other people's work. Parasite. Cursed to never be anything more. That was what she'd always believed, what she'd always told herself.

So how was it that she'd become wonderfully, blissfully tangled up with the most fascinating young man in all of District Nine?

When she heard the tap at her window her face split into a grin, the book she'd been reading dropping down onto her comforter as she scrambled out of her bed. Alicia had been forced to grow up prematurely in more ways than she could count, but all Benedict had to do was sneak around to her room and she felt like a kid again. Lightheaded and maybe even a bit nervous, smiling like an idiot as she pulled up the window and embraced the chill of winter.

"You shouldn't be out this much, you know. You're still healing." The words came out without her thinking them, automatic as she tried to stop her face from flooding with heat at the sight of him. The effect he had on her made her more anxious than she cared to admit. A part of her was still the same old Alicia, wary of weakness. "Hurt yourself again and all my hard work will have been for nothing."

Well, not exactly nothing. Her eyes finally dropped down to notice the flowers he was holding and then there was no stopping the blush she felt spreading over her face. Flowers? In the middle of winter? She gestured for him to wait for a moment before rushing to lock her bedroom door and then tug on her boots and coat, squirming out through the window to meet him on the ground.

She shifted immediately as she felt the snow soak through the sole of one of her boots. Money had been tighter than usual lately. Jobs were hard to come by, and even when she got them she had trouble focusing. Her clients were beginning to notice. She shoved those thoughts to the back of her mind, though, instead facing him and hoping desperately that he dismissed her red face as an effect of the cold.

"They're beautiful," she marveled as she accepted the pot, smiling down at the delicate pink blossoms. She set them down gently just inside her windowsill before turning and wrapping her arms about her neck to tug him closer to her, raising one eyebrow and smiling. "But I thought you were going to be busy tonight. Aren't they expecting you at the gambling houses?"

we're hanging in the bars
running after cars to get home
wishing on the stars, wonder what you are
i just don't know, he's beautiful

Last Edit: Dec 24, 2016 0:33:49 GMT -5 by Stare

sbeeg
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last seen Nov 1, 2023 5:54:37 GMT -5

intoxicating // [merry ratmas stare<3] Dec 24, 2016 17:09:39 GMT -5

Post by sbeeg on Dec 24, 2016 17:09:39 GMT -5

Benedict Nolan

The window flung open and there she was. Red hair falling around her shoulders like a lion's mane. Eyes bright and expectant matched with a sly grin. Your heart paused for a split second in your chest.

Wow.

You wonder what it would be like to wake up to that face everyday, and realize for a moment that it could be a possibility.

Slow down, Benedict.

"You shouldn't be out this much, you know. You're still healing." At her words, your mind wanders to the dull pain in your side. It was healing but you were by no means ready to dive into another bar fight. She was right, you should be back home resting. But it was hard to resist her siren's call. "Hurt yourself again and all my hard work will have been for nothing."

Her eyes fall to the bouquet in your hand and her pale cheeks are flushed bright red. You can't help the smile that grabs a hold of your lips. She's beautiful blushing, she's beautiful scowling- she's perfect.

Alicia slipped back into her room, throwing on winter clothes before crawling out of the window to join you.

"They're beautiful, but I thought you were going to be busy tonight. Aren't they expecting you at the gambling houses?"

You look down, shoving your hands in your pockets to warm them. Honestly, if you wanted to make any money this week you should be back at the gambling house. It just didn't hold as much joy for you anymore. The dim lights and watered down drinks were depressing when you could be in the presence of sunshine.

"They're expecting me," you say and look up to see Alicia holding the pink blossoms. Auburn hair, red cheeks, and pink flowers. What a pretty picture. "But they'll just have to get use to disappointment."

You put your arm out, offering it to Alicia to hold. You'd see people do it on television, escorting the lavishly dressed Capitolites down rich carpets.

"Now, where would Miss Klare like to sneak out to tonight?"

Stare
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and i will hold you tight / like the moon in the arms of the sky

intoxicating // [merry ratmas stare<3] Dec 27, 2016 0:02:36 GMT -5

Post by Stare on Dec 27, 2016 0:02:36 GMT -5

[googlefont="Sanchez:400"]

town cryer, village flyer
got a skull and crossbones on his chest
and i can't resist
when he looks like this, oh

Alicia had decided that Benedict Nolan's smile was one of the most dangerous weapons he had at his disposal.

Just seeing it made her knees feel weak, heart pattering against her chest in a quick, anxious rhythm. Sometimes, when it was blatant and purposeful and directed right at her, she felt so lightheaded it was a miracle she managed to stay on her feet. She'd spent more time than she cared to admit thinking of ways to earn that smile. The worst part was that he didn't even seem to realize it. Not that she would ever tell him, of course. Even after all they'd been through, all they'd become, she still didn't like giving anyone any kind of advantage.

Besides, she had a feeling it wouldn't be effective if he was actually trying.

Taking his arm, she dared a glance at his face and shot him a quick grin. Sneaking around had become their specialty lately. She'd been deceiving her parents for years, but truly it was the entire district they had to avoid, at least for the time being. She could think of several unsavory characters that would take a shot at her if they knew she was head over heels, and she was sure Benedict had his own demons to hide from. She didn't mind. Discreet business was one of their specialties. "I know a place."

She led them through back roads and quiet streets where she knew eyes didn't pry. Her free hand played anxiously with the hem of her jacket as they walked. Being in love with Benedict Nolan was bliss, but it was also terrifying. She'd kept to herself for too long, growing accustomed to being a shadow that no one knew anything about. She'd convinced herself that she liked it that way. Now every secret revealed was one she was terrified would shatter the relationship they'd built. What if the real her, with all her details and oddities, wasn't what he expected? What if it wasn't what he wanted?

But he'd stayed along for the ride so far. He'd seen some of the worst parts of her and kept coming back. It meant more to her than he could ever realize.

The old book shop was as dusty and disheveled as she remembered it. She cringed when the bell rang upon their entrance, loudly announcing their entrance to the entire store, but luckily it seemed to be mostly empty. The owner, Jeffrey, must have been in back. The shop was always a disaster, with books crowding the shelves and then overflowing into tall piles on the floor. Alicia slipped her hand from Benedict's arm and stepped toward the first book that caught her attention, a pale blue one with silver letters. Thumbing through the pages, she smiled. In reality, underneath all the lying and secrets and less than honest behavior, she was a writer.

Alicia peeked up at him, careful to keep the anxious twist in her stomach from reaching her expression. "Sorry," she laughed, then inwardly cringed at the hint of nervousness in her tone. "I know it's kind of a mess. And it's filled with used things. But... well, it's one of my favorite places in all of Nine."

we're hanging in the bars
running after cars to get home
wishing on the stars, wonder what you are
i just don't know, he's beautiful